England’s best chance of the half came just after the 30-minute mark when fullback Jason Robinson fielded a kick and counter-attacked brilliantly, leaving several would-be tacklers grasping at air. But this move, too, was snuffed out by a poor option as the ball was kicked into touch by the English backs despite being in a two-on-two situation.

Montgomery extended the Springbok lead with another penalty goal after 36 minutes, before a telling counter-attack from a turnover led to Pietersen scoring down the right flank. Montgomery’s conversion sent the Springboks into the break with a 20-0 lead and left English supporters wondering if their team could turn it around in the second half.

Unfortunately for England, very little changed after the break.  Montgomery kept the scoreboard ticking over with penalty goals at 46 and 55 minutes, South Africa continued to create chances and England failed capitalise on the few opportunities they could manufacture.

There was a scary moment for all English supporters mid-way through the half when Robinson, who had been the best England back of the night, took a ball at full speed then fell to the ground clutching his hamstring. He had to be helped from the field by team staff and the extent of his injury remains unknown.

A South African victory was sealed in the 64th minute when Pietersen scored his second try after scrum-half Fourie du Preez spotted England short of defenders down the right flank, switched the point of attack and sent Pietersen in untouched.

Du Preez was a stand-out player for the Springboks, directing their pack from the base of the ruck and providing his backs with quality ball. The other player who shone for the South Africans was Pietersen, who set up the first try before bagging two of his own. Delighted Springboks coach Jake White said: "We are obviously delighted. We had lost Schalk Burger (suspended) and Jean de Villiers (injured), so to get a result like that was obviously pleasing. This is one of the biggest victories we've had as a group of people."

In a flat and listless England team, Robinson shone out like a beacon before his injury, but even his play could not breach the green wall of defenders.

England’s performance was a vast improvement over what they showed against the USA, but they appeared to be lacking a plan B. It was obvious after the first 20 minutes that their tactic of keeping the ball in close to the ruck was not working, yet they persisted with it for most of the game. Some poor decision making at critical moments did little to assist their cause, and even the bounce of the ball seemed to go against them most of the time.

Skipper Martin Corry said afterwards: "The lads are shell-shocked. We have to dress ourselves down, give ourselves 24 hours and start focusing on Samoa.

"We gifted South Africa pretty much 20 points, and they didn't have to work particularly hard for those points. We then found ourselves playing catch-up rugby against one of the best sides in the world. We are a side playing under our full potential. We have got to keep striving to produce a performance we know we are capable of."

The feature of the Springboks’ game that will have their future opponents worried will not be their attacking, but their defence which never looked like breaking as each player stuck to his role in their pattern.

The Springboks have all but sewn up a quarter-final spot with this win, sitting atop Pool A with nine points from two games. This win will see South Africa face either Italy of Scotland in the quarter-finals, while England are now facing a likely date with the Wallabies in the knockout stage.